About Genealogy Readers' Choice Awards 2013

The 2013 About Genealogy Readers' Choice Awards are open for nominations in a variety of categories, ranging from genealogy software and apps, to websites and blogs. Nominations for the 2013 About Genealogy Readers' Choice Awards are open until midnight (EST) on February 17, 2013. At that time the top nominees in each category will be announced, and voting will open on February 19, 2013. Make sure your favorite genealogy website, blog, book, and society all make our list!

Consider this possibility: starting from a not-so-far-fetched field of contestants made up of also-rans, has-beens, wannabes and other assorted bug-infested players, somebody is going to get the most votes and be declared the "winner". Unless this contest is titled Best Vote Getter, it means nothing. It's like the Best Picture Oscar going to one of the five worst films of all time.

Watching some of the contender companies publicizing the poll and scrambling for votes - it could look like an award for the best vote getter. On the other hand, you have to really love your program to go online every day for a month and decipher a Captcha in order to make your voice heard.

As a user of all 5 programs, I would dispute your judgment of the contenders in the field. It's different strokes for different folks when it comes to genealogy software. They all have varying degrees of bugs and defects but Best is appropriately in the eye of the beholder, and that is what the vote comes down to.

Watching some of the contender companies publicizing the poll and scrambling for votes - it could look like an award for the best vote getter. On the other hand, you have to really love your program to go online every day for a month and decipher a Captcha in order to make your voice heard.

As a user of all 5 programs, I would dispute your judgment of the contenders in the field. It's different strokes for different folks when it comes to genealogy software. They all have varying degrees of bugs and defects but Best is appropriately in the eye of the beholder, and that is what the vote comes down to.

Virginia

I used that phraseology just to describe a possible scenario, and to underscore the imprecise outcome of such "contests".